On Saturday, January 15, at 5:00 p.m., the Girls’ Varsity Hockey team took on the Taft Rhinos in Remsen Arena. The game went back and forth with both teams getting opportunities to score throughout the game. But in the end, even after a thrilling sudden-death overtime, neither of the evenly-matched teams could pull ahead for good, leaving the score at 3-3.
One of the highlights of the game for the Boars, along with their success with faceoffs, was the outstanding performance of their special teams. Choate’s penalty kill held Taft scoreless on four tries with a power play. Additionally, Choate capitalized on one of its three power plays in the first period with a goal by Kaitlyn O’Donohoe ’19 with just under five minutes left.
After the game, Coach Nicole Stock commented, “We’ve put the emphasis on special teams in practice these last two weeks. So for us, it was nice to gain a little momentum off of Taft’s power plays and then also on our own. Ours is starting to click a little bit; we’re moving the puck a little bit nicer.” She added that, in some previous games, the special teams were not as efficient as she would have liked, so it has been nice watching the team break through that hurdle in recent weeks. Captain Kristina Schuler ’17 was also proud of the way the special teams played, saying, “It’s good to capitalize when you’re a man up, but just as important to gain momentum when killing off a penalty. We have been working really hard on our power play and it’s finally started to pay off in the last couple games.”
A surprising strength for this year’s team is the average age of the players. Girls’ Varsity Hockey has nine underformers this year that are constantly on the ice, three of which are freshman. Those three freshmen played outstandingly on Saturday. They were all over the ice, persistently chasing the puck and wreaking havoc on Taft’s defense. This was shown by goals from both Gina Driscoll ’20 and Effie Tournas ’20, while Christina Tournas ’20 assisted on her sister’s goal. After the game, Coach Stock commented that it was nice to see the young players take control of the game and be rewarded for it with goals. The underformers put the team on their back in this game, scoring all three goals.
While the entire defensive group had strong plays on Saturday, including some impressive one-on-one stops from Liza Diffley ’19 and Tracey Stafford ’19, the defense was anchored by Lexi Takashima’s ’18 outstanding play. She was everywhere in this game, quelling multiple scoring opportunities for the opposition and creating some for her own team. Her quick shots from the point kept Taft’s defense compressed, created opportunities near the goalie crease, and led to longer possessions. Captain Cam Leonard ’17 commented on Takashima’s play, “Lexi was really a force on the ice today. She was the leader of our defensive zone and had some good offensive rushes.” No doubt Lexi will continue to lead this strong defense in the back half of the season.
Both captains expressed how proud they were of the team’s performance despite the disappointing tie. Captain Schuler said, “We were really pumped up for the game and I think that translated really well to the compete level on ice.” After the game, Coach Stock said that she was proud of the way the team fought and recovered from the few minor break downs that are inevitable in a fast-paced game like hockey, especially against such a strong opponent.
Hopefully this game can be a stepping-stone for the team as they enter the second half of their season. The Boars will face some tough teams at home, on the road, and, ultimately, in the New England Playoffs.
